She Creature

2001

She Creature

Critics Consensus

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She Creature Photos

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Movie Info

A couple running a rideshow discover the find of a lifetime, only to realize it could well be the death of them in this horror story. Angus Shaw (Rufus Sewell) and his wife, Lillian (Carla Gugino), run a travelling carnival which barnstorms the countryside in the early 1900s. The Shaws' circus includes a sideshow which promises much in the way of monsters and human oddities, but for the most part delivers second-rate actors dressed up in costumes or using smoke-and-mirrors effects to fool the customers. Lillian herself offers the most spectacular illusion, posing as a fake mermaid. One night, Angus offers a helping hand to an aging sailor (Aubrey Morris), and the old salt offers to show Angus and Lillian something truly amazing -- a real, honest-to-Pete mermaid (Rya Kihlstedt). Astounded by what he's seen, Angus decides the fortune he could make exhibiting a real mermaid is too great to resist, and he steals the creature from the sailor. Angus and Lillian waste no time booking passage to the United States with their find, but en route to America they discover this mermaid is hardly a benign creature -- she has a taste for human blood, and soon the ship's crew is shrinking at an alarming rate. Lillian also finds herself developing a strange psychological bond with the mermaid, a connection more powerful than her vows to her husband. She Creature was produced for the Cinemax premium cable service as part of a series of "Creature Features" produced by special effects wizard Stan Winston and former American International Pictures head Samuel Z. Arkoff, most of which were inspired by horror films AIP made in the 1950s.

Rating:

R
Genre:

Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Television, Romance
Directed By:

Sebastian Gutierrez
Written By:

Sebastian Gutierrez
In Theaters:

Jan 1, 2001 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Apr 2, 2002
Runtime:

89 minutes
Studio:

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Cast

Rufus Sewell
as Angus

Carla Gugino
as Lily

Gil Bellows
as Miles

Rya Kihlstedt
as Mermaid

Aubrey Morris
as Mr. Woolrich

Jim Piddock
as Captain Dunn

Reno Wilson
as Bailey

Mark Aiken
as Gifford

Fintan McKeown
as Shelly

Hannah Sim
as Queen of the Lair

Jon Sklaroff
as Russian Eddie

Matthew J. Roseman
as Jenkins

David Nott
as Cook

Dan Hildebrand
as Christian

Preston Maybank
as Navy Captain

Brian Sieve
as Officer Dixon

Matt Roseman
as Officer Jenkins

Gabriel Gutierrez
as Young O'Donnell

Isabella Gutierrez
as Miranda

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Critic Reviews for She Creature

All Critics (6) | DVD (3)

A surprisingly imaginative made-for-cable horror picture.

Jul 3, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide
If the sailing ship had as many holes as the script it could never leave port, but She Creature is sufficiently fun hokum splashing around in atmospheric, albeit familiar, territory.

Apr 5, 2006 | Full Review…

Mark Bourne
DVDJournal.com
...all we really want out of this movie is a bad-*** mermaid killin' lots of folks. But we don't get that until the final 15 minutes.

Feb 25, 2003 | Rating: 1.5/4 | Full Review…

David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Because Bram Stoker's Dracula was published seven years prior to the events of She Creature, Angus and his merry crew have no excuse for not foreseeing their inevitable fates.

May 1, 2002 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review…

Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

View All Critic Reviews (6)

Audience Reviews for She Creature

Jul 27, 2013

I think it's quite interesting to use mermaids as a topic for horror film, but it requires some better screenwriting. I liked the use of sideshow, pirates and mermaids as inspiration, it was very clever but it was a shame that the film is made with a low budget and had average acting.

Sylvester K Super Reviewer
Dec 17, 2010

I remember watching this on TV. The bit of it to be accurate. And I got really interested to watch the full movie as it seemed very good. And I wasn't disappointed. Never seen such a creepy and ugly looking mermaid in my entire life. It looked more like an alien to me. The story was okay. It was a low budget movie but it was quite catchy. Do recommend it to watch.

Dead A Super Reviewer
Jul 06, 2009

Fantastically surprising B-Movie that reaches levels of success barely met by big budget Hollywood productions. The acting is well above par, for a film of this ilk, and the casting of Gugino and Sewell really pays off. Each of them has really interesting characters and aren't just flat emotionless voids ready for the slaughter. The horror is both psychological and physical, causing jumps and moments of unexpected uncertainty. The film also does really well at introducing the mythology of the mermaid. Unlike many films, the exposition is broken up and scattered throughout the film, whilst being seamlessly woven into the story/action. It's a unexpected gem that realizes that characters come first, with murder and mayhem second.

Luke B Super Reviewer
May 02, 2009

a film very much inspired by films of the past, as rufas sewell plays a travel show owner specialising in miths and monsters, fake of course, and his lovely wife played by the lovely carla gugino, they encounter a real living mermaid, and take her to america, but its on the way that strange things start to happen, and murders, along with mysterious things happening to the wife, not a scary film, but some nice touches,

scott g Super Reviewer